Study Shows Many Don't Understand Search Engines

Study Shows Many Don't Understand Search Engines
Media Life
Ever read a study or look at a poll that makes you wonder where, exactly, they got those people? Sometimes I'm astonished by just how little those of us who don't dwell on the Internet for a living understand about the most basic Web activities. According to a new study from JupiterResearch and iProspect, an SEM firm, more than a third of Web searchers actually believe that the companies appearing at the top of natural search results are necessarily the top firm in their field, either in size or success. Thirty-six percent believed this to be the case, while 39 percent weren't sure, and only 25 percent disagreed that the top results indicated the company was the most prominent in its field. Actually, the results are supposed to reflect the relevance of the query. The engines don't discriminate by size or success.